Dreaming Hell
by thisRANDOMperson
Summary: One-shot. Sweeney reaches the afterlife, but with the horrors that ensue, he can only hope it's a nightmare. R&R.


**I just thought of this wonderful idea and I **_**had**_** to post it! Oh, hi, by the way XD**

**This, like I said, I thought of a few minutes ago. I couldn't stand it just being in my mind, and I had to post it here. Well, I hope you like it! Review nicely, please.**

**I don't own Sweeney Todd. I have a HUGE poster in my room now, though. So smexy :P**

**Read now. Or John Dillinger will shoot you. ;D**

The pain was excruciating.

And yet, Sweeney Todd knew it was the right thing.

His mouth dropped open when he felt the shiny razor blade cut through his throat and spill his blood. He had never, _never_ felt something so painful. Strength began to leave his body, and he tried to smile, knowing this was just the way he had always wanted to die. It seemed almost perfect – he would die with a smile, his dead wife, Lucy, in his arms. He knew his daughter was safe and was with the man she truly loved. Everything was in perfect order – except one thing. It was _almost_ perfect.

He was the one who ended Lucy's life.

That was why he let himself get killed by Toby, Ms. Lovett's apprentice.

His eyes fluttered and the small smile faded as all his energy was drained out. His head was bending more and more forward, and the colors around him grew dim and black. He stopped breathing altogether – it hurt to, anyway. His head fell forward completely, and he stared at his wife's body.

_Lucy._

_I'm sorry I did this to you._

_I'm so, so sorry._

His eyes closed slowly as death took him over.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Mmmmm…." Sweeney opened his eyes, feeling peaceful and…_happy._ There wasn't a reason to be happy though, which puzzled him. There was no possible way he could be happy! He just murdered his wife by accident and had to kill the only person close to a "friend" that he had, _and_ he was killed by some twelve-year-old. That really didn't make his day, at _all._

Wait a minute.

He was killed!

He sat up in what appeared to be a familiar bed and touched his throat with one hand. There was no pain at all. He looked around him and his breath left him. This was his old room he shared with his beloved Lucy. He trembled on his legs as he stood up and walked towards the mirror, thinking he was insane at what he saw.

That wasn't Sweeney Todd's broken reflection.

That was Benjamin Barker's!

His eyes were normal again – soft and brown, always showing happy expressions. His black hair was dark brown again, and he actually _had_ some color in his face. He stared at the mirror for a moment, close to fainting, when he heard a soft cry.

It was a baby's cry.

He turned to the source and found the basket he and Lucy used to keep little Johanna in. He walked up to it. It wasn't worn like it used to be – it was brand-new again, fresh blankets inside, covering a tiny figure. He lifted the blanket and yelped.

It was Johanna.

She was the cute little baby she had been so long ago, and she smiled up at him. "Da-da!" She lifted her tiny fingers up to him, and he gently held her tiny hands. "Johanna…?" She laughed and squeezed his index finger. "Da-da! Da-Da!!" Sweeney – well, Benjamin – smiled as tears formed in his eyes. "My little lamb…my pet…"

"Mmm…Benny?" He froze, his nerves becoming icy poles. He waited, but the woman's voice didn't say anything. He put Johanna's hands down carefully and turned to the bed, where laid a woman. She wasn't even any woman – she was a woman with long, curly locks of blonde hair, with rosy cheeks and a happy smile.

Was it really…Lucy?!

Benjamin stared at her. "Lucy."

"Benny."

He smiled, but instead of staring at her with confusion mixed with happiness, he jumped from his spot, flew onto the bed, and grabbed her in his arms. _"Lucy!!"_

"Oh, Lord, Ben, are you alright? Are you – are you crying?" He had to admit, all this strangeness and that horrible dream really messed with his mind. Once his mind was finally free and clear, he felt such happiness that he wept. He lifted his head from her shoulder and kissed her lips, her chin, her cheeks, and her forehead – anywhere would work for him. After all that, he finally placed a real, tender kiss onto her mouth, letting it last as long as it needed. Lucy wrapped her arms around him, giving in to the kiss. It was a while before they finally parted, and that was where Ben thought it best to begin. "Oh, Lucy, I had this – this horrible _nightmare,_ and it felt so real, the pain was really there, all that pain was there, and there was – Oh, Lucy!" He sobbed lightly, and Lucy squeezed his shoulder. "It's alright, dearest. It's okay. You're back here, with me…"

"And I…" He held her hands, staring into her beautiful blue eyes. "There was so much _blood…_"

"Blood? Why would you dream of blood? You overreact to anyone's blood."

"I know, but there was so much of it! And I…I _liked_ it, and I was…I was this _monster_, out to get revenge that would help you… And the judge, he had so much…blood… And there was blood everywhere, and the prison cells – it hurt, every day, the way things worked out, and I – I…"

"What? What did you do, love?"

"I killed you!!"

"What?!" Lucy stared at him, confused by his statement. He sobbed before beginning again. "I didn't mean to, I was just in such a rush, because I… He was there, and I didn't know it was you, because you had changed completely, and I didn't mean to…I didn't mean to do it…_I'm sorry…_" He held her in his grasp as he cried again. She patted his back, trying to soothe him. "There, there, Benny. Sweet, young Benny… You're with me now, and I'm sure you will forget those horrible things you did."

Ben slowly left her grasp and looked at her. "P-pardon?"

"Of course you'd know! You just told me, dear. When you killed me, did it make you feel better?"

"Lucy, I don't think –"

"Did you feel like you were killing just any other customer?"

"Lucy! I don't understand anything right now. What do you mean?"

"Well, I was wrong," Lucy stated, sticking her hand down beside the bed as she searched for something. "Why would you forget? You had something to live on, you know. When you were in prison, you would have _died!_"

Ben stared at her. "What do you mean…?"

"You're Benjamin Barker. You wouldn't survive such torment. You died, Ben. You died in prison."

"I'm alive now, aren't I? And that was in the dream. It's not true…"

"You _died._ Your mind went blank that one day when a certain thought went through your mind. Don't you remember? It wasn't _your_ thought – someone _else_ made you think it. Do you remember? Say it with me."

Ben blinked, remembering it all. He remembered that day. "Lucy, don't make me say it… God, please…"

"The history of the world, my pet…"

"Lucy, please don't tell me this!"

"…is hate forgiveness and never forget!"

"No!"

"Remember? As soon as you thought that, you fainted. You blacked out as though you had stopped breathing."

"It wasn't me! It's not true!!"

"When you woke up, you weren't even Benjamin anymore. You were Todd… You were Sweeney Todd."

"I'm NOT Sweeney Todd! He's a figure in a dream, and a dream only!!!"

"You are Sweeney Todd, and you killed your wife. You killed me."

_"I didn't know it was you, and I'm sorry…"_ He dropped his head, and a sting in his throat grew suddenly. He looked back at the mirror, seeing Sweeney Todd's reflection, just as it was last – bloody, _everywhere._ There was a large cut along his neck, and he knew why it was there. He turned back to Lucy. "This is Hell, isn't it…? It's the fate I deserve." He no longer felt happy – he felt like he would if he had never died.

"Yes, yes it is…" Lucy finally retrieved from the side of the bed a worn, damaged bonnet, and she put it on. "You remember this, Sweeney? This is what I wore when you killed me."

"Yes it is… I remember."

"It fell off when you sent me into the bakehouse. Remember?"

"Yes, I do…"

"I wonder where Ms. Lovett ended up… Poor Nellie. She loved you, and you killed her for it."

"I did."

"Tell me why, Sweeney Todd."

"She lied."

"And why would she lie?"

"Because she's a lying bitch."

"Wrong. Why would she lie?"

Ben – Sweeney, actually, yet again – couldn't think of a good explanation. All that mattered was that she lied to him and caused him to kill Lucy. "I don't know."

"Because she loved you. That's why."

Sweeney looked at her. "If she _loved_ me…she wouldn't _lie_ to me!"

"She lied to keep you from knowing the dreadful truth." Lucy seemed to glare at Sweeney. "The truth was even worse than what she did tell you. Would you rather think I had died and was in heaven, or that I was insane, and suffering in the streets every day?" He didn't answer. "Tell me what you would rather think!"

"I would want you…to be at peace."

"Then her little lie would help you. Too bad you killed her. Why did you kill her?"

"Because I'm a fool."

"Correct."

"You aren't Lucy." Sweeney looked at her again. "Lucy would never do this to me."

"The devil can hide behind many masks."

Sweeney's eyes widened and he jumped from the bed. Just as he did, everything around him disappeared. It was replaced with blackness – a dreadful, eerie blackness. He looked around, but nothing was there. In shock and despair, he threw himself to the ground, covering his face with his hands. "God, make it stop…"

"Johanna! Don't wander too far!" It was Lucy's voice. Sweeney uncovered his face, sitting up. The blackness suddenly grew colorful, and there really was color now. He was…outside. He saw Lucy and Johanna only. Benjamin wasn't there. Lucy watched Johanna carefully, who was crawling around and wobbling on shaky legs. "Mommy." She returned to her mother. "Where da-da go?"

Lucy's eyes watered. "He was taken away, baby. He can't come back."

Johanna's eyes also watered. "What da-da do? I want my da-da!"

"Da-da can't come back, sweetie. He'll never return."

"What da-da do?" Johanna began to cry helplessly, and Sweeney's eyes also grew watery. Seeing his Johanna, his little Johanna, like that was devastating.

"Da-da was an innocent man," Lucy cooed as a tear fell down her cheek. "Da-da loved you, and he still does. He can't come back…"

_"What da-da do?"_

"Da-da was charged… He was charged with…" Lucy sobbed lightly. "Da-da was charged with murder."

Sweeney stared at the scene. He remembered well. That's what he was sent away for. "I'm sorry, Johanna…" he said quietly. "I'm sorry da-da never got to see you smile again."

"Too bad, in the future, he _did_ murder," Lucy said, and Sweeney froze. "What?!"

"Da-da a killer."

"No! Lucy! Johanna! I…I did it for you…"

_Da-da a killer._

The scene changed again. This time, Lucy was right in front of him, crying sadly. Sweeney stared across from her, not sure if he wanted to fall into this trap. But it seemed so real… Lucy held little Johanna in her arms. "Benjamin, come back to me! Don't leave me! Benny!"

Sweeney couldn't resist. He ran up to her and lightly grabbed her shoulders, and just as he did, the figure's face changed, and Sweeney let go in disgust.

It was Judge Turpin.

He still held little Johanna, and glared mischievously at Sweeney. "Benjamin Barker, you will be sent to a prison camp in Australia for the remainder of your years."

"Damn you!" Sweeney yelled.

"I hope you don't mind this, though – since I raped your wife, she can't take care of the baby. I'm adopting her."

"NO!!!!" Sweeney leapt at the man and began punching him over and over, screaming. _"NO! I HATE YOU! I BLOODY HATE YOU!!!"_ When he stopped, he stared at the bloody mess and moaned. While punching, the devil changed the figure back to Lucy. She cried, tears mixing with blood, and she backed away from Sweeney. "What is _wrong_ with you, Benjamin?!"

"Lucy, it wasn't you…I swear…"

"I can't stand you anymore, Benjamin! I'm leaving!!"

Sweeney fell to his knees. "No…"

"I'm taking Johanna and we're leaving! We're going far away from here!"

"Lucy! God, Lucy, I didn't mean it! I'll do anything!!!" He fell onto his side and finally sobbed. It wasn't Benjamin Barker crying – it was Sweeney Todd. The pain he was feeling ripped him up inside, and he cried harder and harder. "Damned Satan! Just kill me and let me rest!" He suddenly fell into a dark, black sleep, and slept for what felt like an eternity. He woke up to see the yellow glow of his old room, and when he looked in the mirror, he saw Benjamin Barker again. He turned to his left to look at Lucy, who smiled at him.

"Is there a bad dream you want to tell me about?"

**Man… My own writing made me want to cry! T_T It was fun typing, though. Yeah, I sent the poor dear to hell :| Well, whatever. Oh, and in case you didn't get the ending, all that just happened will have to repeat, over and over, he'll be hurt in hell again and again o____O FAIL. Well, review nicely!! Thanks for reading!!! :)**


End file.
